Why Katrina's On TopKatrina's success story should be included in Ripley's Believe It Or Not for it is nothing short of unbelievable. Let's take a quick flashback – a girl from nowhere hands in the big bad world of Bollywood

Her Beauty
If first impressions are the best, Kat certainly made the right one when she landed in India from London. Her delicate beauty made masses, critics and filmmakers gape in awe. Her angelic face was what Bollywood an industry obsessed with fair, sweet, innocent looks that defined the Hindi film heroine prototype needed. So what if it was a tad expressionless in front of the camera?

Salman Khan
Salman's benevolent touch has changed many a struggler's fortunes but none so much as Katrina. She started off as mere eye candy in some of his films (Partner, Yavraj) but Sallu's clout was enough to get her more movies. However, then on, she has always been on her own. Her biggest achievement lies in the way she balanced her personal and professional equations with the mercurial Khan. Despite avoiding marriage with him and later splitting with him, she is in his good books. Her attraction to Ranbir Kapoor allegedly proved to be the final nail in the coffin but Salman doesn't hold a grudge against her. Just compare that with the issues he has with Aishwarya Rai.

Aditya Chopra
After Salman, if there is any man who Katrina owes her standing to, it's Aditya Chopra. It was his New York which proved that she could flex her facial muscles if directed well. While Yash Raj is known to pamper their stars, it has reserved special treatment for Katrina. Her three film coup with SRK, Salman and Aamir needs no elaboration. If you thought Ek Tha Tiger would do wonders, wait for the Yash Chopra directed SRK venture and the biggest of them all Dhoom 3. The reclusive Aditya Chopra is a tough man to please and Kat has indeed worked her magic on him.

Her Picture Perfect Professional Image
Come what may, Katrina doesn't get flustered. She is politically correct to the T and if that makes her a boring interviewee, she couldn't care less. Her hard work and professionalism makes up for her obvious lack of acting talent and linguistic skills. Most of her films have seen her play an NRI or a super glamorous girl in fact, filmmakers are known to tweak her characters to suit her (lack of linguistic) abilities! It's all because she has the title of a 'lucky mascot' something that works very well in superstitious Bollywood. She doesn't say one word more than she should, doesn't do controversial things to remain in the news and ensures no personal low comes in the way of her professionalism. The no-nonsense, all work and no play approach has helped her to be taken seriously as an actress.

Maintaining Her Relationships
In a highly divided industry where camps rule supreme, Katrina has comfortably straddled different groups. A 'serious' filmmaker like Prakash Jha (Rajneeti) is as impressed with her as an out and out commercial Farah Khan (Tees Maar Khan). Some murmurs that arose about her tantrums and strange demands remained just that murmurs. Instead, they all praise her hard work and dedication. Similarly in her personal life too, she has managed to skirt every controversy that has plagued her. Despite Salman's issues with John Abraham and Ranbir Kapoor, Kat was linked to them – a fact that doesn't seem to have angered the mercurial Khan.

Supporting Her Big Family
All said and done, Katrina is a family-oriented person. She supports her huge family of eight siblings and is known to be very close to them. It is her dream to give her family a better life that drives her. Now, apparently, she is also bringing sister Isabella to Bollywood.

Her Indianness
Katrina isn't Indian but is more desi than most B'wood actresses. She didn't know a word of the language yet has tried her best to learn it. Early on in her career, there were even stories of her learning kathak and other Indian dances. She might have a western face but she has mastered the very desi jhatka-matkas to become quite the item queen. Though her first movie Boom saw her shed her clothes on screen, Kat is now extremely careful about revealing anything other than what is necessary! It's a perfect combination for a largely conservative audience – a western face spouting Indian values.

No Catfights
Catfights not only make for juicy copy but also help increase an actress' visibility in the media. Katrina, to her credit, has never spoken a word against any of her contemporaries despite the provocation. It was reported, recently, that Kareena's character takes a dig at Kat in her next film Heroine. But the latter hasn't retaliated. Similarly, the grapevine reported how she and Sonakshi couldn't see eye to eye. Deepika too made some nasty remarks on the infamous Koffee With Karan episode. But all Kat did in return was maintain a stony silence.

Her Meaty Roles
Katrina isn't the best actress around but she chooses the right scripts unlike most of her contemporaries. Kareena boasts about her BO pull but fact is, she had very little to do in her biggest blockbusters like Bodyguard or Ra. One. Ditto for Priyanka who was happy playing supporting actress to Hrithik in Agneepath, her biggest hit to date. Katrina on the other hand, chooses films where she has a strong role even in an ensemble cast like Rajneeti or an equally powerful role with a solo hero like in Ek Tha Tiger with Salman. The spotlight gets equally divided between her and the hero.
With so much going for her, is it any wonder that she has zoomed straight to the top?